Sunday, 1 April 2012

As requested by my dear fellow blogger Marianne from Lure of the Darkside, here is a makeup tutorial inspired by Selena Gomez's 2010 music video, "A Year Without Rain". And just to put it out there, I know I am no Selena and by no means I am trying to look exactly like her, she is too darn GORGEOUS (jealous!) and this look is so stunning on her, but I gave it my best shot to create as similar to her look on the video as possible. To be completely honest, I'm feeling a little bit nervous about posting this tutorial as I'm not sure if I pull it off well enough to give Selena's look justice? I don't know.. I'll let you guys be the judge! But nevertheless, this look is super easy and it would be great to wear for a party/night out so I hope this still gives you guys an idea or some sort of inspiration for your next look. I hope you guys like it and I really hope that I didn't disappoint you, Marianne!

1. First and foremost, prime the face to prep the skin for foundation application and also help smoothen out the skin. You can use any foundation primer but in this tutorial, I used MAC's Prep and Prime. Squeeze out a small amount of product into your hands and rub it between your fingers before applying it all over your face. Give a few minutes to let it absorb into the skin before applying your foundation.2. Apply Make Up Forever HD Foundation (or any medium to full coverage foundation you may have) using Sigma's F80 Flat Top Synthetic Kabuki brush. In this look, I applied two coats of the foundation. Dot the foundation all over the face first before blending it out with the brush. I like to buff the foundation into my skin using circular motions around my face to create that natural flawless looking skin. Choosing a great foundation brush also helps achieve this airbrush look and Sigma F80 is amazing for that. It's my HG foundation brush and it is definitely a must have. 3. Apply Bobbi Brown Light Peach corrector or any concealer to cover dark circles, bags and any redness on the face. I prefer using my fingers to apply my concealer but you can choose to use a brush if you wish.4. Using a powder brush (I used Sigma's F30), I applied Tarte's Finishing Powder all over my face to set the foundation. 5. Selena Gomez's skin has a natural sun kissed glow and for this reason, I applied a bronzer all over my face to give it an overall warmth or bronzed look. You wouldn't want shimmer all over your face so use a matte bronzer. In this look, I used Nars Casino bronzing powder. To give my face more definition, I contoured the hollows of my cheeks, temples, jawline and nose with Benefit's Hoola Bronzer using Sigma's F40 large angle contour brush.6. Spritz the face with Mac Fix+ Spray to help set all of the makeup and make it last longer. Tip: Make sure to spray it as far away from your face as possible and let it dry naturally.

1. As always, prime the lids, lower lash line and brows to help make the eyeshadows last longer and to prevent creasing. Use whatever primer you may have, I used Too Faced Eyeshadow primer in this look.2. Using my ring finger, I grabbed the smallest amount of Mac's Painterly paint pot and applied it all over the lids and blending it out all the way up to my brow bone. This will act as a base for the eyeshadows and make it stand out and look more vibrant.3. Using a fluffy blending brush (I used Sigma's E40), dip it into Mac's Espresso and gently sweep it into the crease. This acts as a transition colour and because I'd be using cool toned eyeshadows, this will help warm up the eye look a little bit.4. Using a clean fluffy blending brush (I used Mac 217), sweep Inglot's #444 pearl eyeshadow back and forth over the crease, concentrating it below Espresso.5. Using a pencil brush, apply Sleek's #2 (highlight) eyeshadow from the Sleek palette to the inner corners of the eyes and inner third of the lower lashline.6. Using an eye shading brush (I used Mac's 239), pat Inglot's #420 pearl eyeshadow all over the lids, working it up to where Inglot #444 meets.7. Using the other side of the shading brush, lightly dip it into Mac's Electra and pat it on top of Inglot #420.8. Using a clean pencil brush (Mac's 219), pick up Mac's Knight Divine and apply it on the outer corners blending it inwards and into the crease where the eye socket is. Use the same brush to line two-thirds of the outer part of the lower lashline.9. Use Sigma's E40 again and apply Inglot's #328 matte eyeshadow on to the crease to blend out all harsh lines and edges.10. Highlight the brow bone with Mac's Naked Lunch using Sigma's E60 or any shader brush you have.11. Tightline the eyes using any black eye liner (I used L'oreal's Extra Intense Liquid Pencil eyeliner). I also used the same liner to line my waterline. Grab the pencil brush again to smudge out the liner and blend it with Knight Divine.12. Using a small angle brush (Sigma E65), I dipped it into Mac's Carbon and lined my upper and lower lashline to set the eyeliner.13. Apply two coats of mascara (Benefit's They're Real Mascara) and add false lashes to get those dramatic sexy eyes that Selena had on her video.

Thursday, 29 March 2012

Hi guys! Here's the long overdue second part of my March haul. Sorry to be posting this so late but I still made it before the end of the month nonetheless which is good :)

If you have been following me for awhile now, you would know how much I love shopping especially online. And I know, you guys are probably thinking, "oh no, Rina is at it again with her crazy shopping spree"...lol, but just to be clear, I did not purchase all of these stuff at once. I did in fact buy these items over the course of two months and because most of it was coming from overseas, it also took some time to get to me. And I left these just sitting in the box for the last couple of weeks, until I could find the time to do this haul post.

First up is my Inglot purchase. This is my first ever eyeshadow palette from Inglot and may I just say to those of you who haven't come across their eyeshadows that these are super buttery and amazingly pigmented, it would be so hard not to fall in love with them. They have a wide range selection of shades and oh my goodness it was so hard to pick which one to get! But eventually, I opted for colours that are wearable and I would happily wear on an everyday basis.

See included swatches below..

The next products that I got that I am so excited to share with guys is my purchase from Beauty.com. I have been wanting to get these in so long and I was so happy when it's finally arrived!

URBAN DECAY STARDUST SPARKLING LIP GLOSS

I bought shades, Glitter Rock and Andromeda. Ahh my excitement level is sky high. I cannot stress enough how gorgeous these lip glosses are! And I LOVE the packaging!!

By the way, these were limited edition so I'm not sure if these are still available in stores/online.

TARTE AMAZONIAN CLAY BLUSH IN EXPOSED

TARTE SMOOTH OPERATOR FINISHING POWDER

To be honest, I never really took interest in Tarte cosmetics before until Jen from From Head to Toe started raving about these two products. And I was sold as soon as I saw how amazing these looked on her. I am yet to try these but once I have, I'll let you guys know what I think.

A workmate of mine recently went on a trip to New York so I asked her to get me a couple of things from Sephora whilst she was there. Here's what I got..

BENEFIT 'THEY'RE REAL' MASCARA

I've heard great things about this mascara and I'm looking forward to trying it.

URBAN DECAY 'FLASH' EYESHADOW

I love the packaging and the colour is beautiful. I wish my camera can pick up the true colour in the photo though. It actually looks a lot more vibrant purple in real life which is a shame because I'd love to show you guys how stunning the colour really is!

BENEFIT HOOLA BRONZER

All of the MAC purchases I made were from the maccosmetics.com website except for the Viva Glam Nicki which I bought from my local Mac store. I was not intending to buy it but I gave into temptation when my cousin Joanne from Urhappybunnie raved about it so much that she even made an amazing recreation of Nicki's look featuring this lipstick.

Mac blushes from left to right:Gentle (Mineralise blush), Dollymix, Breeze

I also re-purchased my fave eye liner, Smolder.

Last but not the least are my purchases from drugstore.com. Revlon lip butters are still not readily available on Australian shelves so I had to order it online from US. I can't tell you guys how happy I am to finally own a few of these! Lol. And because US prices are a lot cheaper, I thought I might as well re-purchase a few of the old items that I like and save myself quite a bit of money instead of buying it here later on.

L'oreal Voluminous Million Lashes Mascara

Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara

Milani Liquif'eye eye liner in Black

Milani Liquif'eye eye liner in Brown

L'oreal Extra Intense cream eye liner pencil

Maybelline Master Drama Eye Studio pencil

L'oreal Color Riche Lipstick in Saucy Mauve

L'oreal Color Riche Lipstick in Fairest Nude

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Primrose

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Berry Haute

Revlon Color Burst Lipstick in Soft Nude

Revlon Lip Butters: Berry Smoothie, Lollipop, Cotton Candy

Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch

Wet N Wild icon eyeshadow in Brulee

Wet N Wild icon eyeshadow in Nutty

Wet N Wild Mega Sparkle Confetti in White Icing

Wet N Wild Mega Sparkle Confetti in Lilac Frosting

And that's about it for this month's haul. Hope you guys liked what I shared and if you want more details/info on any of the products above, please let me know down the comment section below.

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

I'm sure many of you have seen or read the raving reviews about these palettes one too many times before but just in case you are not familiar of Sleek Makeup, it is a UK based cosmetics brand very well-known for their high quality eyeshadow palettes. And with their wallet friendly prices, it goes without saying that this is a dream come true for makeup junkies who are on a budget, hence why they are so popular. Sleek offers a total of nine iDivine palettes consisting of a variety of twelve beautiful mineral based eyeshadows in each palette, ranging from neutrals to bright shades. I currently own three of their palettes - The Original, Storm and Sunset. As these are Sleek's older palettes, the eyeshadows have waffle patterns to them (I know weird!) and there are no individual names for the eyeshadows. But these are just a couple of minor details that I can easily ignore.

Storm was the first Sleek palette I've ever owned and from the get-go, I was totally sold on these bad boys. Definitely a winner in my books. I purchased it over a year ago now and to this day, this palette still ranks as one of my top favourite makeup products.

The top row has all neutral shades, perfect for daytime looks. Bottom row has all darker shades which can be used to add depth and intensity to your looks for that dramatic smokey effect. I love shades #8, #9 and #10 the most and my least favourite out of the bunch is shade #12 which is the matte black. It's not a dud but I find it quite sheer, patchy and not as opaque as the others. Shade #2 is perfect for highlight although for some, it may be too shimmery. I personally don't mind using this to highlight my brow bone if I'm not wearing any other shimmery eyeshadows on my eyes.

This palette has a mix of warm and cool tones, with three of the twelve shades that are mattes - #3, #11 and #12. And the rest are all metallics with shimmers. Reminds me a great deal of the world famous, NAKED palette. As you can tell by the swatches below, they are not exactly dupes but in terms of wearability you get the picture. Although I must say, shade #8 comes close to being a great dupe for Gunmetal and shade #3 for Naked.

Just to give you guys an idea of how nice it looks on, the photo below shows myself wearing a night time smokey look with shade #10 on my lids, #11 on the outer corners and #3 on my crease.

The Original palette on the other hand has all shimmery/glittery eyeshadows except for one which is the matte black. For some reason, Sleek consistently includes this eyeshadow in every single one of their iDivine palettes. Some of you may think it's 'blahh boring' and a waste of space but to me it's no biggie. I think black should be a staple eyeshadow in every palette anyways, although I do think that the pigmentation can be improved. Just saying.

So from the top left we have - black, cool toned lilac purple, deep navy blue, aqua blue, turquoise which leans towards more on the green side, light forest green

I found that all of these eyeshadows swatched so smoothly with the exception of the black one, yet again. I'd say this palette is more versatile across the board because it has a combination of basic neutrals and pale colours, brights, super vivid and darker shades. My faves would have to be shades #8 and #12, I love the gold flash duochrome in them. Very unique and makes the colours extra special.

Sunset is a real treat and once again another richly pigmented eyeshadow palette from Sleek. It consists of browns, russets, and of course it won't live up to it's name "sunset" without the bright orange, yellow and sky blue eyeshadows.

With the exception of the usual matte black, all of the colours in this pan has a metallic sheen to them, I don't think there is a great deal of shimmers in this pan at all. I absolutely adore shade #2, the rich red fall leaf colour. I think this colour is so unique which you don't generally find in palettes from any makeup brands. I love combining it with shades #3, #5, #8 and #9 to create a beautiful autumn inspired look. In fact, I featured this palette in my last post. If you'd like to check it out, click on the link here.

My least favourite from this palette would have to be shade #6, the sky blue colour. It almost has the same pigmentation as the black, quite sheer and not as blendable as the other eyeshadows.

Packaging in all palettes are the same. It comes in a high quality sturdy but lightweight black casing which embodies the brand's name for its 'sleek' appearance. Looks very classy and is very compact which makes it portable and very easy to travel with. Inside, it comes with a generous-sized good quality mirror and a foam applicator (which I never use).

Each palette retails for $19.95 AU from Crush Cosmetics. And for 12 eyeshadows in a palette, each eyeshadow works out to be just over $1.60 which is crazy cheap for the amazing colour pay off you get. And in saying that, Sleek palettes totally give high end eyeshadow brands a real run for their money.

*Side Note: Crush Cosmetics is a great online cosmetics website here in Australia. I've dealt with them so many times before and I've always had great shopping experience with them each time I visited online or made a purchase over the phone. To those of you who may be interested in the Sleek palettes, feel free to check out their website, they also offer international shipping to those who live outside Australia.*

So in a nutshell, I think Sleek palettes contain eyeshadows that are not only incredibly gorgeous, ultra pigmented but are also very affordable. In my opinion, the overall quality of these palettes is almost on par with Mac, Urban Decay and Inglot eyeshadows. Blends easily and has great colour pay off. The only negative point I can really say about it is the texture. The eyeshadows are uber soft which tend to crumble a fair bit. Handle it with care as you do not want to drop it! I find it most annoying with my Storm palette, I think out of the three palettes I own, this one has the softest texture and just by moving it around in my makeup storage, little specks of eyeshadows go all over inside the palette which is not so pleasant to look at.

Overall Score: I'd give it a 4.5/5 stars.

Please note that I do not make biased reviews, what I share with you all is purely based on my personal experience and if I do not like something I'm most certainly not going to sugarcoat my honest opinions about the products I've tried or used.

If you own or have tried any of the Sleek palettes, please do share your thoughts and opinions about them. I would love to know.

Friday, 23 March 2012

Happy Friday my lovely readers! Hope you all have had a superb week.
Here's just another FOTD post to share with you. The rain here in Brisbane has been a downer this past week but I woke up this morning feeling all positive and energised. As you can tell, my mood's totally reflected on my outfit - colourful and fun - not even this miserable Autumn weather could influence and bring down my spirits. It felt like I was almost celebrating Spring with my tangerine top and floral skirt :) It may have been a tad too bright to wear to work but I was seriously caught up in my own little happy bubble that it didn't concern me in the least what other people thought :P

In this look, I used my Sleek Divine "Sunset" Palette. I adore Sleek and I've already started putting swatches together for you guys and writing my thoughts on the palettes. Review post will be up next!

Casual Fridays at work is the best. The environment is a lot more relaxed and everyone tends to wind down slightly because we are all looking forward to the weekend. Hmm... but what would be even better is if Fridays are made to be part of the weekend, don't you think? Lol.

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About Me

Full Filipino from Australia. I'm Make-Up Obsessed. Loves collecting and experimenting makeup. I am no pro at it, I am self taught, and after watching YT vids and reading blog posts for years I finally caved and decided to do my own blog so I can also share my love of makeup :)
But don't get me wrong, despite my addiction to all things beautiful, my life revolves around my two beautiful kids, my fiance, family and friends. They are the inner core of my being, my purpose and everything. Without them, life just won't make sense.